


Call me a fool

by thedevilswhisper



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: (i try at least), (they didn't really love each other), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Lucio is figuring out what feelings are, Past Asra/Apprentice, Past Julian/ Apprentice, Past Nadia/Lucio, Slow Burn, Smut? maybe?, Strangers to Friends, Tattoo Artists! Asra and Apprentice, first fanfic, past shitty childhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-03-29 19:07:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19026085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedevilswhisper/pseuds/thedevilswhisper
Summary: Lucio's lost almost everything, and he's pissed and tired.A stranger with a snake keeps him company on the bus.He's not falling or anything.Not at all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is uhhhhmy oficial first work. I was on the bus listening to music and got inspired.  
> Hopefully it doesn't totally suck but it's my first fanfic, it's not edited and English is not my mother tongue.  
> I don't expect you to like it but if you can't be nice please don't say anything I've got anxiety and I cry pretty easily.
> 
> ... Joking. 
> 
> Or not really. 
> 
> Anyway! Hope you don't hate it!

She's late. Again. Four days in a row. She just hopes her clients are running late too for their appointment. 

 

At first she didn't mind. She loves Faust, and really cares about Asra, so when he asked her to take care for the (not so little) snake because he's going on a trip with his parents, she couldn't refuse. Mostly because when it came to traveling nobody could stop Asra. And she can't just get mad at him.

 

Okay, she is kind of mad.

 

Of course she is. She's alone at their tattoo parlor, so she can't have Faust there because she might scare off the clients. She has to get up early and drop the boa at Muriel's, since he works overnight. The thing is, he lives across the town, and she has to take the bus. 

 

And it's always packed on the way back. 

 

And she just keeps falling and bumping into things. 

 

And it's been four days and she's sick of it. 

 

She sees the bus coming on the corner of her eye, so she sprints and barely makes it in time to get in. 

 

As always, there's no seat available, so she just goes to the back and hopes she doesn't fall on someone again. She still hasn't recovered from the first day she had to take the bus and fall on an old lady's lap and she kept screaming she was being attacked.

 

Half an hour later she arrives at the doors of her tattoo parlor, a tall figure trying to look inside the window.

 

"Trying to break in again, Julian?"

 

Julian jumps at her voice, but smirks when he faces her.

 

"Well, well, well. Good morning, Nix. Guess what?"

 

"You're trying to break in, don't you?" Nix loves to tease him about that. He's still embarrassed. When they first met he accidentally broke in her parlor because he wanted to surprise her. 

 

"No, lovely witch. I'm here to help you out with my adorable company!"

 

"Don't you have to go to work?"

 

"Day off. I... uh..." he stops, blushing. "I miss Asra and wanted to talk about something with you."

 

Oh. Okay. It makes sense. No need to feel nervous. It's not that it's uncomfortable for her. Not at all. She loves seeing Asra and Julian happy, and she's okay with them dating. But it's still her two exes, who she's still friends with. 

 

Not uncomfortable at all.

 

"Well, what is it?" Nix asks as she opens the door to her little parlor. 

 

She turns on the lights, and the neon "The Magician Tattoo" sign begins to glow purple on the black wall behind the counter. Nix looks at the clock, she's only ten minutes late, and the first appointmentwas supposed to arrive in another twenty minutes. Great, she has time to work on the sketch she wanted to tattoo on Asra for his birthday.

 

"Uh, you see..." the auburn haired man looks nervous. Nix can't help but look nervous too. "Asra said he wants me to meet his parents."

 

That's... it?

 

"That's it? You're nervous because you are going to meet his parents?"

 

Julian nods and Nix laughs.

 

"Well, buddy, you've got nothing to worry about. They're gonna love you, and they are very nice. Trust me."

 

"But what if they don't? Love me, I mean..."

 

"Oh, for fucks sake, Julian. Asra loves you, you make him happy, of course they're gonna love you."

 

Julian keeps talking his insecurities out and Nix listens to every single word while she doodles a few snakes in different positions to fit the floral tattoo she plans to design. The first customer comes in, and Julian help them to relax while they're getting the tattoo.

 

Nix sighs while she is preparing her materials, she is tired. It's going to be a long day, but she at least has a good dramatic company. 

 

 

•••

 

It's definitely not his day. 

 

He doesn't like his job. Don't get him wrong, he didn't like working at the bank either but at least he was making big money. The company he's working at the moment for is new, they just got started a few months ago, and they barely made half his salary while working at the bank. 

 

He can't sleep either, he moved out of Nadia's house a few weeks ago and the mattress is nothing compared to their shared bed. Well, at least he can cuddle with Melchior and Mercedes now. That's a pro.

 

He misses Noddy. It's not like he loved her, they got married a very drunk night after dating for two weeks and they decided to give it a go. 

 

They last two years. Two years of living together. She did have patience. Damn, he would even leave himself if he could. He had an affair with a coworker, lost his money because of a few (a lot, actually) bets with that creepy man people called The Devil, and, well, he IS an asshole after all. It's not like he wants to be but it's the only thing he knows to be. 

 

He's pissed. He's back at the same place he was the first eighteen years of his life. Not literally, he's out that caravan camp now, and his parents aren't here to make his life hell; but he's not rich, not loved, not even wanted. When was the last time he got laid? Three months ago with Valerius. Could have done better. 

 

He's also pissed because of that girl that keeps falling or bumping into his shoulder in the bus. He likes his seat, he's been sitting there for the last few weeks he's been working at the new office, but this week he just keeps seeing that girl that seems to be always late. 

 

He didn't care about her. It's not like he checked her ass out when she first hit him with a bag accidentally (he definitely did). It's not like she smelled nice. She just makes him mad. 

 

If he sees her one more time he's gonna shout at her, he decides.  Get your ass off of my face  or  If you hit me one more time I'm gonna hit you back. 

 

He still has to go to work, walk out the dogs when gets home and then meet up with Nadia to sign the divorce papers. 

 

It's going to be a long day. 

 

 

•••

 

Nix finishes the tea Muriel prepared for her and proceeds to play with Faust. 

 

They're alone in Muriel's apartment, he left five minutes after Nix arrivedto pick up Faust, letting her stay until it stops pouring rain. So she just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the apartment and relaxed. 

 

She looks out of the window, but the weather doesn't look like getting better. 

 

"Looks like we're going to run to the bus stop." She says to the snake hanging on her shoulders. The boa hisses slightly, and Nix laughs at the thought of her saying "run!", giving her a light boop. 

 

Nix gets ready, letting Faust get cozy inside her hoodie, knowing she won't escape on their little trip. She hates to keep her in the bag, but she's aware of the people fears of snakes... especially big ones. 

 

Luckily, she gets on the bus on time. It's still full of people, all the seats are taken. So she goes to the back, like always, and when she gets there she hears a scoff, followed by a gasp. 

 

She looks to see where it comes from, facing a blonde man in her left, wearing a suit and a face full of surprise looking at her...hoodie?

 

Oh. 

 

Oh, okay no need to panic. 

 

Or maybe yes panic.

 

Faust's head is out of Nix's hoodie, observing the place they're in, while thestranger's silver eyes are following the snake's head. 

 

Nix feels paralyzed. If this man screams or something she might need to jump out of the bus before someone tries to kill Faust or call animal control. 

 

She breathes in and starts to apologize and beg the man not to say anything, but he reaches out to caress the purple boa.

 

What? 

 

"Hello there little lady." He murmurs.

 

Okay, Nix is confused. And so is Faust, twisting her head in a funny position.

 

"I..." Nix starts to say, though she's interrumpes by the stranger.

 

"Sit down, won't you?" He says as he gets up to let her seat. "Don't worry, that guy smells like three bags of weed and is taking a very profound nap" says about the teenager sleeping on the seat on his right. 

 

Nix is even more confused. She looks around and sees that no one is paying attention to them. She hesitantly sits down and murmurs a low "thank you".

 

"What's her name?" He asks, still referring to Faust.

 

"Umm..." 

 

"Don't worry, I like all animals, not gonna call you out."

 

At his words, Nix seems to relax. He looks like a harsh, rude person, so she's surprised that he lets her sit there. She thinks she's seen him once in the bus. 

 

"She's Faust." 

 

At the sound of her name, the snake hisses happily and the man lets out a small laugh.

 

"Glad I didn't do it" the man says under his breath.

 

"Excuse me?" 

 

"Nothing, it's nothing." 

 

She nods, letting go of the conversation and politely says goodbye to the stranger when she gets off. 

 

The man sits down again and smiles shyly when she's out of sight. 

 

Seeing Noddy did get him in a bad mood, so after going home and walking the dogs he decided to go to a bar, seeing that annoying girl again. He was angry and wanted to pick on her. 

 

But, you know. A cute snake can make a good day.

 

He's glad he didn't shout at her.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucio keeps seeing that bus girl everywhere.

> There's a really loud scream.

 

Lucio's gaze tries to follow where that sound came from, but he can't recognize the place. He's in a huge hallway; looks like a palace. The wooden doors look burned and there's ashes and dust everywhere. It smells like smoke. Has this marvelous place been burned down?What a shame. 

 

Another scream. He's scared now, since he recognized the voice. There's a flow of energy, serpent-like floating in the air, flying around him. It feels creepy. He wants to go home. What home? He has no home to go back to. But he needs to go home.

 

Home. Home. Away. He needs to go the fuck away from there.

 

Suddenly he's chained by some kind of fire chains. He's trapped. He wants to scream. He can hear  his whispers. 

 

"Give it to me." The voice says. He can't see the man, but he's pretty aware of the goat like eyes floating in front of him, mocking him. Then golden coins and jewels start falling from the ceiling, burning down before they touch the ground. "More", the voice slurs. "More, more, more..." The coins hit him and burn him, his left arm twitching in horror. "More." A mirror appears from nowhere, facing Lucio. "More." The white of his eyes is turning red. "More." The red starts to glow. Is he crying? He feels something falling out of his eyes. They burn. He wants to leave. A bite. What?

 

Something's biting his arm. No. It's eating it. He doesn't want to look at it. He wants to scream, but he's got no voice. 

 

Fire. Now there's fire everywhere. He cries cried and he feels chills down his spine and his left arm. 

 

"How can you-"

 

_Stop. Stop. Stop. Please stop._

 

"-be so fucking-"

 

_No. No, no, no, no, no, no._

 

"- stupid?!"

 

He sees their eyes. He wants to vomit. He's still crying blood. His arm is falling.The eyes are floating, suffocating. 

 

"What did you make me do that?!"

 

_Did I?_

 

"You spoiled brat!"

 

_I probably did._

 

"You're nothing but a waste of life!" 

 

_I know._

 

"I wish you died then."

 

_I wish that too._

 

"Nobody's going to love you."

 

_I'm aware._

 

There's still fire everywhere. He doesn't care. He knows it's all a dream. He wishes he didn't fall asleep tonight. 

 

When he wakes up, there are real tears on his eyelids, his arm burns at the memory he certainly didn't want to remember, and there's blood falling down his knuckles after he punched the wall. Now there's a red stain in front of his bed. Great. He gets up at 4 a.m., a great time to paint. And to drink wine. 

 

•••

 

 

Nix wakes up earlier than expected. Faust is curled up on the pillow next to Nix's. Asra left it since it's Faust's favorite to sleep on.

 

Since it's early in the morning, she decides to take a shower and leave Faust a little earlier at Muriel's. 

 

It's Friday, he probably doesn't have work tonight. Great, they could hang out after she closes the parlor. 

 

What a lovely morning. 

 

 

•••

 

 

 

He's not saving the seat beside him for that stranger. 

 

He's definitely not. 

 

He just happens to have a spare bag there. It's not like it's empty, there's tones of paper there. It seems pretty packed.

 

His scowl scares off everyone that tries to sit there. 

 

But when she happens to get in, the bag is suddenly on the ground between his legs, leaving the seat empty. Definitely not for her. For the snake, he tries to convince himself. 

 

Her eyes light up seeing an empty seat on the back. She's kind of suspicious about it, maybe it's dirty or something. But as she approaches she sees that it's not. So she sits down. And... puts on her headphones. Lucio didn't expect that at all. Okay, no need to be offended. 

 

"Uh..." 

 

She closes her eyes, relaxing. Okay. Okay, not a big deal. He does not want to talk with her. But he does take the opportunity to look at her closely, though discretely. 

 

Freckles, check. Wavy dirty blond hair, check. Is that a tattoo? It's a small symbol tattoo, yeah, check. Smells like mango? Check. Nice. No. Not nice. Kinda comfy though. 

 

She sighs and puts out the headphones. Low battery, maybe? 

 

She turns her head to him and seems surprised. 

 

"Hello!" Says cheerfully. 

 

"Uh. Hi." How the fuck does he respond after just creeping over her?

 

"Sorry she's not here, I drop her off at a friend's around this time." she apologizes.

 

What? 

 

Drop who-

 

Oh. The snake. Faust. Yeah. 

 

"Oh, the snake. Yeah. I was wondering... where she was..." Why are you so fucking nervous? 

 

"Hopefully hiding in a sock trying to scare off a giant man." She laughs. What a musical laugh. He can't help but feel so comfortable, like falling asleep.

 

He lets out a polite laugh, as if he understands the joke too.

 

Then she leaves, saying goodbye, leaving him all alone until a lady sits down beside him.

 

Her laugh almost makes him forget the nightmare. 

 

 

•••

 

 

 

"Cinema."

 

"Yes."

 

"You actually... you actually want to go out."

 

"What's so surprising about that?" 

 

Nix laughs. Please, understand that she has to laugh. Muriel rarely went out to hang out with them, and if he did it was always when Asra was around. Nix and Muriel has been friends since childhood too, having Asra as their mutual, and they always felt comfortable around each other, but Asta was the only one who could convince him to get out of the house. 

 

"Okay, I know it is." Muriel confesses, shyly. 

 

"What do you want to see?" 

 

At her question, his face lights up (though it's his own way). She's happy he wants to hang out with her. 

 

So they pack her bag with homemade popcorn and Faust slips into her hoodie. They would never go to see a movie without the snake, it's a tradition.

 

 

 

•••

 

 

 

Lucio's feeling lonely. It's normal, he thinks, when you don't have any friends. 

 

At least he's got his dogs. And they are fluffier than any friend could ever be. 

 

But he can't help but feel kind of sad when he's walking his dogs alone and sees groups of people and couples heading to restaurants or bars or even the cinema. 

 

Melchior starts to sniff the air, and Mercedes looks alerted. 

 

"What's up guys?" He asks lovingly. 

 

Both of them start to bark. At a hoodie. With a snake.

 

Wait a hoodie with a snake? 

 

It's... her? 

 

She's walking with a... really tall and... big guy. Wow. Is he getting jealous or horny? 

Probably both. Wait what? 

 

The dogs stop barking when the wavy haired girl turns to them with a smile. The she spots the blonde man standing with them, looking kinda uncomfortable. She smiles at him and waves, but he just stares in horror at Muriel. 

 

Don't get him wrong, he's a good person, a shy person, a really polite person. But he looks pretty intimidating, even more when he's glaring. 

 

"Muri, you're glaring again." she says politely. 

 

"Oh." Muriel's gaze turns to his phone, pretending he's got a message. 

 

Then the man looks at her and awkwardly waves back. Then turns around with the white fur pups and leaves. 

 

 

•••

 

 

He's going crazy. 

 

He just fucking sees her everywhere. 

 

In the bus, every morning. 

 

When he walked out his dogs that night with her scary (boy?)friend.

 

He went to Target on Saturday and she was there with another tall guy, though that one was skinny and really loud. Probably drunk. He was singing in the shopping cart while she was recording him.

 

Now he wanted to drink some coffee but the machine at the office broke so he went out to buy some hot chocolate. 

 

And, well, she's here.

 

Chatting with a short redhead girl. Smiling at her. Laughing at something. Drinking coffee. 

 

He's glad she's not aware he's here, because he stormed off the office wanting to throw a tantrum so bad. He walks carefully to the barista and talks as low as possible so she doesn't hear him. He's a grown up man, he can buy hot chocolate if he wants to, but he doesn't want her to know. 

 

She does spot him, though. But he storms off the cafe before she can say "good morning, stranger." 

 

 

•••

 

 

She's pretty sure the silver eyed strangers saves her the seat beside him every morning. 

She doesn't mind. She's pretty glad. 

 

So she greets him every morning and says goodbye when she leaves. 

 

They don't really talk, though that man looks like he's about to say something every damn morning, but stops himself. 

 

 

•••

 

 

Lucio drank too much. 

 

He went to some bar last night, and had too many shots and was turned down too many times. Then he got mad at the bartender for telling him to "go call his mommy to give him a ride home". As if he knows shit. 

 

He scoffs. Obviously mad and hangover.

 

He rolls to the other side of the bed and realizes some things. 

 

One: He's not fully clothed. 

 

Two: His dogs are not in his room. 

 

Three: He's not, in fact, in his room. 

 

And four: His head was resting on a note he didn't write. 

 

 

_Hope you had fun last night, but you should rest for now! Aspirin and water are on the kitchen counter but you need to wash your clothes before you leave._

_Sorry Faust is not with you!_

_If you need anything I'm downstairs_

_— Nix ( bus buddy )_

 

Oh for fucks sake.

 

Did he fuck the bus girl? 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Lucio is wrong.   
> Just a little misunderstanding.  
> Just a blushy goatman.

Nix is not much of a party animal. Not really, she doesn't even like alcohol. But when Portia asks, it's an exception. They just have a really good time together. 

It's a tradition. When Nix finished high school she started to work at a restaurant, where she met Portia, a couple years younger than her. When they finished the night shift on Saturday, they both would hang out on a park nearby the place, where Portia used to drink cheap beer and Nix chugged bottles of cola. Ever since Portia's coming off age, even after Nix began working on the tattoo path, they hang out at bars every other weekend and share their stories. 

So they're both here, without Julian in his favorite bar (poor guy got night shift this week). Portia's drinking her fifth bottle of beer, though she could drink ten more and never get drunk, and she's adorably talking about the woman she recently met and now has a crush on. She's pretty cute when she gets flustered, Nix thinks. 

"-so I go over the table, and she's there sliding her freaking business card with my tip. She looked so hot ugh."

Whatever Portia is about to say is interrupted by a loud slurred scream. 

"YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT" 

The girls turn around, to see where the voice is coming from. The bartender is trying to kick out a drunk tall man. 

Wait a minute. Blonde hair, white shirt, sharp features. She knows him, it's the guy from the bus. 

"Isn't that your bus buddy?" Portia asks. She saw him the other day at the cafe, when Nix told her the whole story. 

Nix nods, and they both go over there. 

"Hi, is there a problem?" Nix asks the bartender, who gives her a tired look. 

"Is he your friend?"

Portia nods, already on her way to take the drunk man out there by one of his arms. Nix does so too. 

He's babbling nonsense while they carry him out. Once they're outside, he just sits down on the pavement and looks up to see the girls who dragged him out. 

"You're no fun- Oh, hey, where's the danger noddle?" He's starting to giggle. 

Nix starts to laugh, Portia is visibly amused by him. So, he's the all kinds of drunk drunk. 

"She's sleeping, as should you." 

"Noooooooo, if I sleep they come back..." The stranger puts his hands over his face and rubs them against it. He lets out a desperate sigh. Now he's looking sad.

"I'm alone. Nobody's here anymore."

"We're here with you, bus buddy" Portia says, trying to cheer him up.

It works, actually. At those words his face lights up and then he looks at Nix. 

"Bus buddies! Yeah! I like that! Heyyyy bus buddy! I missed you." The silver eyed stranger says as he takes Nix' hands on his. She laughs, and he's laughing too. 

"We should get you home. I'll call a car for you, okay?"

"Noooooo, I wanna hang out with my bus buddy." He is just. Pouting. Like a kid.

"Your house is close, he could stay overnight and Ilya will take care of his hangover, he's finishing his shift soon." Portia says. 

Well, helping out a drunk stranger is fine, but taking them to your house could get you killed. But Portia just has a good eye for people, if she trusts him, so will do Nix. 

"Come on bus buddy, you're invited to a sleepover!" 

The man just laughs and lets out a really loud YEAAAHHHH when they start to carry him. 

 

•••

 

Okay, he's panicking. 

Why the fuck is he panicking? 

Damn, Lucio, just calm down. 

It's not like you've never had a one night stand. 

This feels different though. 

Lucio takes a quick look at the room he woke up in. The walls are a soft shade of purple, and the bed is covered by a lot of pillows. He smells something strange in the air, incense, he thinks. There's a tiny bell attached to a dream catcher on the window, slightly opened. The room is not big, but it is indeed bigger than his. He sees spare clothes on the bed. She (Nix, right?) must have left them so he can change. He still has his shirt, probably refused to take it off since he does not want anyone to see his scarred arm. 

The pants are too tight. So he just assumes he will go downstairs the way he's dressed right now: socks, boxers and shirt. Why not, after all she's definitely seen him naked last night, right? 

He did not, actually, expect downstairs to be a freaking tattoo parlor. 

He can hear a tattoo machine in a room with a closed door, at his left is the reception and waiting room. He spots a tall guy with auburn hair, dressed all in black, smirking towards him. 

"Well, i see bus buddy woke up from his drunk nap!" 

He sounds annoying, Lucio thinks. 

"Had fun last night?" 

He's still smirking. Lucio does not like it.

Is he her boyfriend? I mean, maybe they are not serious or maybe it's an open relationship or she is just that kind of person. 

"Are you the boyfriend?" Lucio asks, voice still husky. 

The man shoots him a smile and raise one brow. 

"Ex, actually. Currently dating her other ex."

Lucio does not know what to think about this information. He just finds it weird. 

"So, bus buddy" the other man says handing him a bag. "I see Asra's clothes don't fit you, these are an old pants of mine, probably will fit you better. You can throw them out, but you'll have to wear something to go to your house."

He makes sense, though. Lucio feels kind of embarrassed now. 

"Hi, stranger!" A soft musical voice.

"Uh... Nix, right?" Lucio says as he turns around to see her smiling clearly unimpressed. A boy with a freshly done tattoo on his neck follows, not paying much attention to Lucio. He's feeling hot, is the place heated? 

"Right. You're Monty, if I didn't get it wrong?" Lucio freezes.

"What." 

"Well, you kept saying last night things like "Monty is a bad boy" when I asked about you." She's smiling, an honest and warm smile. But his gaze could freeze a demon. 

"No." He simply says as he storms off upstairs to get his phone and clothes and rushes home.

He swore many years ago that Monty was dead. 

 

 

•••

 

 

He's feeling bad. And embarrassed. Bad and embarrassed. 

The rest of the weekend he just sat around with his dogs and groaned internally about his little dramatic exit. So, he figured out, he would apologize with hot chocolate when he sees her in the bus, because who could say no to hot chocolate? 

But she's nowhere to be seen. 

She does not take the bus on Monday. Nor Tuesday, or Wednesday. Thursday is the overthinking day for Lucio. So, okay there are two options, right?

One: She does not want to talk to him because of his storming off. 

Two: She's avoiding him because the night he spent with her was... disappointing.

Lucio's brain decides the second one is the real reason, and he spends the entire work shift thinking what could have gone wrong. Did he try to do something she didn't like? Did he embarrassed himself? Was it his penis? What's wrong with it? It's... nice, Lucio supposes. Maybe it's because he refused to take off his shirt. 

Friday morning is a hell when he does not see her again. It's ruining his ego. 

At work he opens the browser and looks for tattoo parlors near his work. He knows she works here, but can't remember how to get there. Thank goodness, there's only two parlors in this area and he clearly recognizes the mystic hand logo on their website. He scribbles down the address and storms off with it when his lunch break begins.

He's not even thinking. He doesn't even have a plan. He just needs to know why she's avoiding him. If they spent a night together, she would definitely enjoy herself, wouldn't she? 

So when he opens the door and spots her doodling over the counter he doesn't even pay attention to his surroundings.

At the sound of the door opening, Nix smiles to greet her new client, though when she sees who's the one who entered she's about to say "Hey stranger" but gets interrupted by the blond man. 

"Was I that bad that you keep avoiding me?!" He shouts.

"What?" Nix asks with obvious confusion.

"Did I do something you didn't like? Was it it's shape or did I finish earlier than expec-" Lucio asks losing his breath, his eyes demanding answers.

Oh, wait, Nix knows what he means. And she starts laughing. 

Lucio hears a door opening and a gasp following it. Then he blushes, heavily. He realizes they're not alone. There are two guys sitting in the sofa, customers, probably. And a guy with curly white hair and golden olive skin tone, and a shock on his face. He's wearing white gloves carrying a needle. He looks a few times from Lucio to Nix and finally turns to her to say:

"I leave for a few weeks and you get laid without telling me?!" he sounds offended, but clearly amused by the situation.

Nix is not amused though, she looks angry at him. 

"Asra, the client!" Wow, her eyes are scary.

"I told them to wait and to excuse me."

"ASRA YOU'RE ABOUT TO PIERCE THEIR DICK."

"Oh." Asra says, smiling apologetically and runs to the room in the back. 

Lucio is still confused but his face still demands answers.

"We didn't fuck." She simply says. 

Oh. 

"Oh." Lucio murmurs. 

Well, this is more embarrassing than expected. 

"Why... do you avoid me, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh... the bus?"

"Oh! Yeah, I'm not avoiding you. Faust is Asra's pet. He's been traveling for a few weeks so I took care of her, but since I was alone here I had to drop her off at a friend's so she's not alone. I live here upstairs, so there's no need for me to take that bus now." She's smiling, as if she's apologizing to him even though he's the one who made a scene not one, but two times in a week. 

Lucio swallows, then nods, still blushing. That makes sense. Yeah. 

"I... I'm..." Well, fuck. Who would say it's hard to swallow your pride? "I'm sorry. For the other day."

"May I have your name, then?" She's not mad, she's still wearing that warm smile. 

"Lucio." 

"Well, nice to officially meet you Lucio." Nix says as she shakes his hand. 

Why does he feel his heart pounding in his head? 


End file.
